Santaed
by RosieShiba
Summary: Santa wants a vaction and turns to his youngest grandson to take over the family business for a year. Too bad for Paul. Now he has to put up with Ash and the gang for 365 days of hell! IS, CS and PS
1. Scrooge

**Hi there! I know I should be working on some other stories but I wanted to get this back up and running for Christmas (yes I know, it's only November but shush). So I've re-done this chapter and will be doing the others too. Please enjoy.**

**Chapter One: Scrooge**

'Twas the night before Christmas and alone in the town, a young boy was standing with his face in a frown. With his hands in his pockets and snow in his hair, he stood wondering why he was wasting his time there. He found it slightly amusing to think that while everyone else was eating their dinners and being merry, he was stood on the corner of Goldenrod with his hands in his pocket. He gazed up at the sky waiting for something to happen. Really, he had no idea why he was waiting on the lonely street corner in the middle of a snow storm but he was. It was one of those things, he decided.

Christmas was a time for family and friends, merriment and love but not for a sixteen year old boy named Paul. Christmas had always been the busiest day of the year for his family what with all the running around and the festivities. Christmas was the reason his parents ended up getting divorced and Christmas what drove his dad to drink and drive himself to death during the holiday season quite a few years back. However, despite all this, Paul never found he really hated Christmas in fact it was his favourite holiday - apart from one aspect of it: the waiting for far too busy family members.

Paul sighed loudly, folding his arms across his chest in annoyance. Why was he being kept waiting so long? Why couldn't he had been told to go and wait in a warmer place where there was a large fire in the corner or where the smell of nutmeg and cinnamon hung in the air while people laughed and chatted. Instead Paul was left waiting in the cold, feeling the chill slowly eat away at the tips of his fingers and toes.

A flurry of laughter made him glance down the empty street to find the last people on the planet he wanted to see, especially in his current mood. There was a group of six people trudging through the thick blanket of fresh snow towards him, all of them wrapped up in heavy coats, hats and scarves. Their leader, a goofy boy wearing a baseball cap over his messy black hair turned round, locking eyes with Paul.

"Hey, it's Paul," Ash said brightly. The ebony haired Pokémon trainer pointed straight at Paul causing his group of friends to also look at him. Before anyone could speak, Ash was rushing up to Paul's side, determination written across his face until he held a threatening fist to his chin. "Hey, I want a rematch."

"You beat me last time I battled you," Paul said. "Remember? Moron?"

Ash stared blankly at Paul for a moment or two until Paul rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue.

"You really are dense," he muttered.

"Ash, leave him alone," Paul heard Dawn tell him. There was a loud thwack noise and Ash crumpled to the floor, holding his head in pain. Paul smirked with amusement as he turned to look at Dawn. She was holding a mallet (where she'd got it from he didn't know) in her gloved hands, looking very annoyed at Ash. She turned to Paul offering him a smile. "Sorry about that."

"It's nothing really," Paul replied. Paul watched as Dawn handed the mallet back to a ginger haired girl who looked very familiar. After a few seconds of wondering where he had seen her before he realised that she was Misty, the Cerulean Gym Leader from Kanto. He had battled her sisters before but had never had the pleasure of facing her. Beside Misty stood Brock, the breeder or whatever he was who was friends with both Ash and Dawn. Paul and Brock gave each other a brief nod of welcome but neither tried to speak to the other. Paul continued to follow the group round. Just behind Brock there was a green haired boy who made Paul flinch in recognition. The pair regarded each other oddly for a few seconds before the green haired boy jumped backwards, pointing wildly at Paul.

"It's you!" he yelled.

"Yeah it's me," Paul replied, standing up straight. His facial expression lightened into a mocking sort of grin as he faced the green haired teen. "Long time no see, Drewy-Bear."

"I told you," Drew said, clenching his fist tightly and raising it to face level as he closed his eyes. He glared at Paul then pointed at him menacingly. "Don't call me Drewy-Bear!"

"Whatever," Paul said, amusement biting at his tone. All of a sudden Drew seemed to forget his anger, his hand falling limply to his side.

"Hold on," he said. "I thought you were in Sinnoh."

"Obviously not," Paul replied. Paul turned to look at the final member of the group, a brunette who was stood next to Drew. Paul had never seen her before and she seemed highly confused as to who Paul was.

"He's my cousin," Drew explained to his friends moodily. "My stupid younger cousin who does nothing but mock me."

"No way! How is that possible?" Ash asked. He looked between the cousins confused at the different in eye and hair colour as well as their personalities. "You look nothing like each other!"

"So what are you doing here?" Dawn asked Paul, blatantly ignoring Ash.

"Waiting for my grandfather," Paul replied with a shrug as he turned to face her. "But the old geezer's never on time."

"Would you like us to wait with you? It's a little bad to leave people on their own on Christmas Eve," Brock asked.

"But I'm hungry," the brunette girl moaned loudly. "Can't we go inside and get some food?"

"I'll be fine on my own," Paul told Brock. "In fact, I would prefer if you would go and enjoy yourself."

"If you're sure," Misty said. "Well, we'll be in the Pokémon Centre if you'd like to join us later."

"Thank you for the invitation," Paul replied politely. Maybe he would go along just to annoy his cousin and Ash. Beside Ash, Dawn shuffled her bag from off her shoulders. She rummaged through the bag until she produced two presents, both wrapped in red paper and with green ribbon. She thrust them into Paul's arms.

"For you and Reggie," Dawn explained, her cheeks turning pink. "Merry Christmas, Paul."

"Thanks," Paul muttered. He looked down at the presents, noticing that Reggie's was larger and heavier than his was but he didn't really care. He would have to get her one back, he decided, but he had time to do that later. The gang began to shift towards the Pokémon Centre, calling good bye and Merry Christmas to Paul as they went. Dawn waited behind for a few seconds.

"So… see you later?" Dawn asked. Paul paused wondering why she wanted him to see her later but he nodded to her. She instantly brightened up. "Great."

"Thank you for the presents," Paul told her.

"You're welcome," Dawn smiled. "And don't worry about getting me one back."

"I'll get you one back," Paul replied, smirking. "It's only good manners to."

"If you say so," Dawn giggled before rushing off to join her friends. Paul smirked after her. When she was out of view he shrugged his bag off of his shoulders so he could put the gifts somewhere safe. Then he returned to his waiting game. Geez, sometimes he really hated waiting for Santa…

Sometime later Misty nudged Dawn as the blunette stared out of the large window. Snow was falling much heavier now and she was beginning to get worried about Paul. He still hadn't shown up like he said he would. Dawn had been in this sort of mood since leaving Paul earlier and it hadn't gone unnoticed by Misty.

"Sitting there like that isn't going to make him arrive you know, Dawn," Misty told her. Dawn sighed loudly.

"What's the deal with you and that guy anyway?" Drew asked, having also noticed Dawn's behaviour over the past two hours. He waited, genuinely interested in what Dawn was going to say.

"He's pretty hot," the brunette, May, exclaimed suddenly when Dawn bit her lip. "I mean those dark eyes, that hair. Wow, he's mega nice! Dawn you should ask him out!"

"What?" Dawn and Ash yelled loudly. Dawn went deep pink in embarrassment while Ash got to his feet, slamming his hands on the table so he could leer at May for the suggestion.

"He's my rival!" Ash snapped at her. "She can't date him, that's not allowed!"

"Hey!" Dawn shouted, forgetting her embarrassment. "I can date who I want!"

"Both of you calm down," Misty sighed. Brock merely chuckled as Dawn and Ash glared daggers at each other.

"W-what do you mean 'he's pretty hot' and 'he's mega nice'?" Drew squeaked at May. May looked sort of confused for a few seconds until she giggled.

"I'm saying that if Dawn's not going to ask him out, I will," May replied with a shrug.

"But he's a jerk!" Drew told her.

"He's not that bad," Dawn said, turning to look out of the window once again. "I think he gets better on acquaintance."

"But he still abuses his Pokémon," Ash muttered under his breath.

"That's all in the past," Brock said. "Christmas is all about new beginnings and making new friends."

"Really?" Misty inquired. "I thought that was New Years."

"Christmas is about friends and family," May corrected Brock with a wave of her finger. "And holding out the hand of kindness to people who may not be as well off as we are."

"Amen to that," Misty agreed.

"Is that why you invited Paul?" Ash asked Misty.

"Yup," Misty said happily. Ash didn't seem sold by this but Misty giggled not long after, adding: "That and Dawn is totally in love with him."

"Misty!" Dawn squealed, turning bright red. The group laughed loudly at Dawn, all apart from Ash who seemed rather annoyed by this. Misty gave him a nudge to get him to lighten up about it. Dawn blushed for the length of the laughter, then she turned her attention back to the window. She stared out of it for a long while, waiting patiently for Paul but as the minutes ticked by she felt as though Paul was not going to show at all. She let out a defeated sigh.

"I give up," she muttered. "He's not coming."

"It is getting late," Brock agreed after consulting his watch. "We should think about going to bed soon."

"I'm telling you! It fell out of the sky! A big red sleigh!" a man yelled from over by the reception causing all of the teens to look round to see what the commotion was about.

"Stantler are running wild around the city! They knocked out my Vapoureon!" the man went on.

"Stantler?" Drew muttered. "I wonder how they got here."

"From the route probably," Brock said. "They're common just outside Goldenrod."

As Brock finished his sentence there was a loud commotion as several Stantler ran past the windows. Drew got out of his chair so he could get a better look.

"Wow," he said. "That's very odd."

"We should go and help round them up," Ash exclaimed, looking triumphant as he stood up.

"And leave the warmth?" May moaned.

"Let's go," Dawn said determinedly. She eyed the window cautiously wondering if Paul was alright. Of course he would be fine since he had much stronger Pokémon than she did but what if he was caught off guard and now he was hurt?

"If you say so," Misty agreed. "Let's help out."

"Be careful," Brock said. "Those Stantler may be injured and confused."

"Right," the others said.

Dawn stumbled through the snow having lost sight of Misty a few streets back. She wasn't too worried about the fact she was now alone with nothing but Piplup by her side. He was strong enough to help her out if she needed help. Carefully she trod on, not wanting to slip up in the snow.

"Here, here Stantler," she called. "Come out wherever you are."

She stumbled on an invisible piece of ice and fell onto the cold pavement.

"Ow," she moaned as she sat up on her knees. She rubbed her head and looked around. It was only when she looked up that she realised she had come face to face with a Stantler.

The Stantler reared up on its back legs, ready to stomp on Dawn. Piplup seemed to have vanished into thin air. Where was he? Why wasn't he helping her? Dawn closed her eyes tightly, waiting for the blow. However, there was the sound of a hand bell from behind Dawn. Stantler seemed to calm down instantly, slowing into a trot and walking round Dawn. Dawn opened one eye and followed the wild Pokémon round until the Stantler came to a boy: Paul.

He reached out a hand and stroked the Stantler calmly on the forehead.

"Donner," he said softly. "There's no need for panic."

"Ler," the Stantler replied with a nod. Paul pulled a Pokéball from his pocket, returning the Stantler. When he placed the ball back in his pocket, Paul began to walk towards Dawn.

"Are you alright?" he asked her.

"Yeah," she replied, suddenly embarrassed. "Thanks for the help."

"You spooked her," Paul commented. "She doesn't like girls."

"Sorry," Dawn found herself saying.

"It's nothing for you to apologise for," Paul said. He held out his hand for her to take. Slowly she reached for it was helped to her feet in seconds. She dusted the wet slush off her clothes then looked up at Paul. She bet she looked like a right mess in front of him now but Paul didn't seem to care. "Let's go back to the Pokémon Centre. I need to see to my Grandfather."

"Oh, he's arrived?" Dawn asked. Paul smirked at her with some sort of irony she didn't seem to grasp.

"Oh yes," Paul replied. "These Stantler are his. Now let's go."

"OK."

They walked in silence towards the Pokémon Centre. Paul was checking some Pokéballs in his hands to make sure he had all nine. Yup, they were all accounted for apart from Blitzen who was already at the Pokémon Centre. When he shoved the balls into his pocket he looked over at Dawn.

"Sorry, I didn't catch you at the Pokémon Centre earlier," he said. "But you know family. Always late and then they stir up trouble."

"It's no problem," Dawn replied. "At least you were there to help me out."

"Is it wise to walk around a big city at night on your own?" Paul asked her sharply. "You should be thankful you were only attacked by a Stantler and nothing worse."

"I was with Piplup and Misty," Dawn snapped in her defence. There was a pause where Paul stared at her, not quite believing her. "But I lost them."

"If it happens again, get out another Pokémon," Paul told her. Dawn nodded slowly feeling a little stupid. Paul was right after all, she could have been attacked by something else. They resumed walking in silence until they got to the Pokémon Centre. Paul guided Dawn towards his Grandfather who was sat near the fire with one of his Stantler sat beside his seat.

Dawn tilted her head to the side as she looked Paul's grandfather up and down. He was a tall but fat man with a long white beard and small circular glasses. He was wearing an all red suit with white fur along the cuffs and collar. On his left foot was a big black tie up boot while his right one was bare but for a bandage.

"I've got your Pokémon, old man," Paul told his Grandfather roughly..

"Ah, thanks," the man replied with a cheery smile. He turned to beam at Paul. "That's my boy."

Paul sighed loudly at the old man before turning to Dawn.

"This is Troublesome," Paul went on. "She almost got trampled on by Donner."

"Oh I do apologise," the old man said, turning to Dawn. "She doesn't like girls."

"Paul said that already," Dawn said nervously.

"What an odd nickname," the man went on. "Troublesome? Paul, why such a strange choice for a nickname?"

"Because she is troublesome," Paul replied. "Not as bad as you, I'll admit. I doubt anyone can be as bad as you, old man."

"Oh shush," the man said. "Come sit with me, Dawn, while Paul checks my Pokémon in with Nurse Joy."

"Sure, get me to do all the work," Paul muttered as he turned round.

"Wait," Dawn spluttered as Paul walked towards the main desk. She looked wildly around for a few seconds before she stared at the old man. "How did you know my name?"

"I know everyone's name, dear," he replied. "My name is Nikolas, Nick for short."

"Oh, hello Nick," Dawn said as she sat down next to the old man. She eyed the Stantler on the other side of the old man carefully as it looked up at her.

"This is Blitzen," Nick explained. "My number one Stantler."

"Oh, I see," Dawn muttered. She glanced over at Paul as he returned to them.

"Your Pokémon are being check over," Paul told his grandfather. He sat down on the sofa opposite Dawn, leaning forwards slightly so he could hear the two better. Dawn glanced around noting for the first time that there was a fire lit to her left in a stone fireplace. A small coffee table was between Paul and herself. The whole thing was cosy and nice. "So why did you want to talk to me tonight?"

"Oh that," Nick grumbled, looking sort of annoyed. Dawn smiled as she recognised the family resemblance. "Always right onto business with you, isn't it?"

"Just get on with it," Paul snapped. Dawn let out a sigh at the way Paul talked to his family. Apparently Paul treated everyone the same no matter who they were. Nick, on the other hand, laughed merrily.

"I'm taking a vacation," Nick announced. "And I want you to run things for a year for me."

"Why me?" Paul asked.

"Why not you?"

"Because I'm sixteen, that's why."

"Ah, you're practically a man."

"Why not pick on Reggie?"

"Reggie can't organise toffee."

"It's too much hard work for me to do by myself," Paul moaned grumpily. "You can't expect me to do it all on my own, can you?"

"Oh no," Nick said. Paul stared at his grandfather oddly, waiting for more information but Nick turned to Dawn. "Ask your friends to help you too. Dawn, would you like to help Paul?"

"Don't drag her into this, old man," Paul said before Dawn could speak. "She doesn't even know what she's been dragged into. And she's not even a proper… friend."

"Oh… you haven't told your friends who I am?" Nick asked.

"I don't really tell anyone anything," Paul replied. "I don't have many people I consider friends."

"That I can see," Nick commented, stroking his beard thoughtfully. Dawn glanced at Nick with a smile on her face before her eyes darted to Paul as he replied to this.

"Says you, Old Man," Paul snapped. "Name five people who you see regularly who are not family or your employees."

"Well… there's…" Nick thought for a minute. "And then there's…"

"See," Paul said, leaning back into the sofa with a smirk on his face. "There's only Gramps and Mum who put up with you."

"I resent that," Nick snapped. The pair's argument was cut off as Dawn began laughing loudly. Nick seemed confused. "What's wrong?"

"You two are definitely related," Dawn giggled. "It's so funny."

Nick blinked a few times as Dawn hugged her ribs. Blitzen cocked his head towards Dawn, his eyes wide. The Stantler and old man glanced at each other before they turned to Paul.

"Marry her," Nick said. This time it was Paul's time to blink at his grandfather. He was about to tell his grandfather to stuff it when the Pokémon Centre doors slid open.

"Dawn! There you are!"

May and Misty raced towards the sofa where Dawn was still giggling at Nick and Paul. Her laughter stopped when Misty and May got to her.

"Sorry, I got lost," Dawn said.

"Lup!" Piplup cried as he jumped up into Dawn's arms. She hugged her faithful Pokémon tightly and softly apologised for making him worry.

"Hey," Ash said as he came closer to the sofa. He pointed at Nick. "He looks just like Santa!"

The teens, including Paul and Dawn turned to look at Nick who had returned to stroking his beard.

"Shush, Ash," Misty hissed.

"He does," May agreed. "Look at him."

"How do you do?" Drew asked, stepping forwards to introduce himself, "I'm-"

"Drew Hayden," Nick said, "And you're Misty Waterflower, Ash Ketchum, Brock Harrison and May Maple. Nice to see you all."

There was a weird pause as everyone froze to look at each other in shock. They all thought one thing: How did he know that? Dawn glanced across at Paul to see he was glaring across at his grandfather.

"You realise you come across as a stalker when you do that?" Paul asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Do I?" Nick said, appalled at the suggestion.

"It is a little creepy," Dawn agreed. Nick looked between the pair before he cupped his lips so that Dawn couldn't see him mouthing 'marry her' to Paul. Paul responded by kicking the table into Nick's good knee.

"Who is this guy?" May asked as Nick rubbed his knee and snapped at Paul for hurting him.

"He's Paul's grandfather," Dawn replied. "He says his name is Nick."

"The one he was waiting for earlier," Misty asked. Dawn nodded.

"Hey I know," Nick said brightly. "Seeing as you don't have any friends, I'll make you some new ones."

He turned to face the group of teens, beaming at them.

"Would you all like to help Paul for a year? He's going to take over my job so I can have a vacation," He said to them. "I've been doing my job for so long now I can't remember the last time I took a break, plus the wife keeps moaning."

"Well… we don't know Paul that well," Misty said, rubbing her head nervously as she looked at the others for support. They seemed to have backed off a little, even May who didn't know Paul that well.

"What do you do?" Dawn asked, leaning into Nick for more information.

"He's Santa," Paul replied dryly.

"We can see he is," Ash snapped. "But that's not an all year job."

"No," Paul corrected Ash. "He is the real Santa. My grandfather is St Nikolas, Father Christmas, Santa Claus, whatever you call him."

"Yup, that's me," Nick said happily.

"And now he wants a holiday," Paul continued. "This can't be good."

"Not for you, it's not!" Nick laughed.

**I hope this is infinitely better than before. I don't tend to do this but when I re-read this I thought it was horrible. Anyway, enjoy!**

**RSx**


	2. Christmas Morning

**Re-done this chapter too! Enjoy!**

**Chapter Two: Christmas Morning**

Ash stumbled down the stairs of the Pokémon Centre, yawning loudly the next morning. He walked into the large reception room where the fires were already lit. Sat round one fireplace were Misty and Drew. Both of them were still in their pyjamas, drinking hot chocolate in silence. Misty was sat cuddling her legs to keep them warm since she was only wearing blue shorts and a yellow tank top. Drew, on the other hand, was sprawled across one sofa in his purple flannel pyjamas, staring out of the window at the snow on the streets.

"Good morning Ash," Misty said when she spotted Ash walking towards her. "Merry Christmas."

"Morning, Mist," Ash yawned loudly. "Merry Christmas you two."

"Morning," Drew said. He turned to smile at Ash. "Sleep well?"

"Not bad," Ash replied. He looked round the room to see piles of presents darted around the place, under the already twinkling Christmas Trees and placed on tables. "Where did these come from?"

"Nick," Misty replied. "He was here a while ago but he popped out somewhere."

"Paul and Brock are in the kitchen," Drew added. "Cooking or something."

"Paul can cook? There's something weird about that," Ash mumbled. "Where are Dawn and May?"

"June's upstairs with Dawn, I think," Drew replied. "They should be down soon but you know how long it takes them to get dressed."

Ash flopped down on a sofa beside Misty and stretched. Misty resumed sipping her hot chocolate slowly. Silence fell about them, with the occasional loud yawn from Ash, until Drew suddenly jumped out of his chair.

"Hey," Drew said loudly. "It's her."

"Who?" Ash asked.

The doors of the Pokémon Centre opened and in strolled a young looking girl wearing a high neck ruby red dress. A white bobble hat was dumped on her head with warm looking flaps over the ears to protect them from the cold. Heels from her long brown boots clicked on the floor as she casually walked through the centre.

"Hey! Twinkle!" Drew greeted her. The girl's onyx eyes flashed onto Drew in confusion. It took her a few seconds but she broke into a cheery smile and changed direction so she could go over to Drew.

"Drew! Is that you?" she exclaimed. She pulled her hat off her head and shook her purple hair out. Her silky hair fell gracefully to her waist, looking like it had been freshly styled even though it had been bunched up in her hat. As she walked over towards Drew she extended her arms so she could hug him.

"Nice to see you, Twinkle," Drew said as they hugged tightly.

"It's been too long, Drewy-bear," Twinkle replied happily. "It's been years since I last saw you."

"Yeah," Drew agreed. He turned to face Ash and Misty. "This is my cousin, Twinkle."

"Nice to meet you," Misty greeted, releasing her legs so she could great Twinkle properly. "I'm Misty."

"And I'm Ash," Ash added with a goofy grin on his face.

"Nice to meet you both," Twinkle said. "And Merry Christmas to all of you."

"I thought I heard you."

Twinkle turned round to see Paul walking over to them with a plate of croissants in his hands. Dawn was next to him with a large tray with a tea pot and cups next to it. Pikachu was walking by their feet but once he saw Ash, he bounded over to trainer happily with a 'Pika-pi'. Twinkle turned to face the pair, her smile getting even bigger.

"Balthasar! It's so good to see you!" Twinkle exclaimed, throwing her arms round Paul's neck.

"Paul," he corrected, "And nice to see you too, Twinkle."

"Balthasar?" Ash chuckled.

"Don't," Paul warned. He let out a sigh before putting the plate of croissants on the table in front of Ash and Misty. "Where's the old man?"

"With Grandma," Twinkle replied. "Down in Goldenrod somewhere. Who's this?"

Twinkle pointed at Dawn as she settled the tray next to the plate of croissants. Dawn was far too busy putting the cups onto the table to even notice that she was being spoken to.

"That's Dawn," Misty replied when Dawn didn't say anything, "Dawn?"

"Huh," Dawn said quickly, turning sharply to face Twinkle. "Sorry. I'm Dawn, nice to meet you."

"Hi," Twinkle said. "I'm Balthasar's-"

"Paul's," Paul corrected with his arms folded.

"Older sister," Twinkle continued. "And Reginald's younger sister."

"Stop calling me Balthasar," Paul told his older sister. "Hollisha."

There was a pause as the siblings had a staring stand off. Finally Twinkle let out a sigh.

"Fine," she said, sounding quite annoyed. "So has Gramps asked you yet?"

"Yeah," Paul replied with a solemn nod. "And he's roped these into it as well."

"Tough luck people," Twinkle giggled. "But do not fear, I shall be there to help out."

"What do you do?" Misty asked, somewhat interested.

"I do odd jobs from looking after the grounds to cooking food," Twinkle explained. "I have to admit I'm looking forwards to having new people coming to join us. It will be so much fun."

Dawn giggled as she saw Paul give his sister a 'you've got to be kidding' glance. However, before the siblings could begin an argument, Brock and May arrived, each carrying plates and cutlery. They paused when they saw Twinkle but didn't say anything.

"This is May and Brock," Drew told Twinkle. "And this is Twinkle, Paul's older sister."

"Nice to see you all," Twinkle said. "Well, I'm here to pick up Grandpa's Stantler and then I'm going to phone Reginald . Enjoy your breakfasts."

"Fine, bye," Paul replied.

"You are joining us for Christmas dinner later, right?" Twinkle asked, talking to the group of the teens. Paul glanced at them, waiting to hear their reply.

"Oh we can't do that," Misty blurted. "If you're having dinner with your family we couldn't intrude."

"Oh please do," Twinkle said. "Grandma loves to have lots of people there. She always cooks for twenty people so please come."

"Yes, please," Paul agreed seriously. "Any distraction from the old man and Reggie will be great, thanks."

"Scrooge," Twinkle teased, tugging on Paul's cheek. To everyone's surprise Paul didn't complain. When she had finished annoying her brother, Twinkle straightened up and waved. "Enjoy your morning!"

"We will," Paul said, waiting for Twinkle to walk over to the welcome desk before he added. "Once you've gone."

"I heard that Balthasar!"

"So what's with the name?" Ash asked again.

"Mean parents," Paul replied grumpily. "They called me Balthasar Paul Christmas."

"And I thought May Maple was bad," Drew said, flicking his hair casually.

"Hey!" May yelled at him.

"Let's eat," Misty suggested, her fingers dancing to the plate of croissants. "These look tasty Brock."

"Thanks," Brock replied. "Thankfully Nurse Joy let me take over the kitchen for a while."

Brock sat down next to Ash and began handing out plates. Currently Brock was the only one dressed in his usual clothes with an apron over the top of them. May was wearing a red onesie with holly patterns on it. Apparently it was a tradition for her to wear this onsie every year on Christmas Eve but Dawn and Paul hadn't dared question it. They glanced at each other awkwardly for a second before they reached over to take a croissant each.

Dawn sat on the sofa awkwardly as she was wearing a fancy pale pink nightie with dainty slippers. She felt sort of exposed wearing this nightie but no one seemed to notice. Paul was in sweats: a white t-shirt with grey jogger trousers. He sat down beside Dawn, ignoring the looks he was getting from Drew and Ash. Ash looked positively venomous while Drew looked confused. Breakfast passed in reasonable silence apart from the odd comment from May and Ash about wanting more food.

"The old man left you your presents to open" Paul told them as Brock began collecting the plates, pointing towards the wall. "Over there."

"Great, we'll open them when we're done," Misty said happily.

"We need to get ours too so we can share them out," Dawn added.

"Yay! Presents!" May sang, her mouth full of pastry. The others laughed while Paul merely rolled his eyes. He looked round the small gathering of people. He found it sort of nice to be included in something with people who weren't related to him. He passed his plate to Brock, muttering a thanks to the older teen.

"Are you sure you're full?" Dawn asked him. "You didn't eat much."

"I don't each much breakfast on Christmas Day," Paul replied. "Like Twink said, Grandma cooks for twenty people and she expects it all to go."

"Does she need any help cooking at all?" Brock asked.

"You can help if you want but don't feel obliged to," Paul answered. "But be aware that both my sister, my brother and my mother will be helping out."

"You're mother's here too?" Dawn gasped, almost dropping her plate.

"Yeah," Paul said.

"What about your dad?" May asked innocently as she bit into a croissant. Drew made a gurgling noise and turned to glare at May as if she'd done something stupid. She blinked at Drew, wondering what had earner her the glare.

"He died a few years ago," Paul explained.

"Ooh," May said slowly figuring this was the reason Drew was glaring at her. Paul smirked at her reaction as her expression changed from understanding to guilt. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know."

"It's fine," Paul told her. "I knew you were merely asking."

Paul looked round at the others as they stared at him like they were expecting him to say something else.

"I hate to break it to you but you won't be getting a sob story from me," Paul replied. "It happened a long time ago."

"Like two years ago, Paul," Drew snapped.

"Four," Paul corrected him.

"Presents," Dawn said quickly as Ash went to open his mouth once again. "I'm going to get mine."

"Yeah," Drew agreed. "I'll get mine too. Ash, Brock, I'll grab yours on my way."

"And I'll get yours," Dawn said to the girls. Paul got to his feet before Dawn could move. She looked up at him, noting how his face was completely devoid of all emotion. He walked towards the stairs, not waiting for Drew or Dawn to walk with him. Dawn glanced at Drew then hurried to catch Paul up. Drew hung back, feeling somewhat guilty about the whole thing.

"Oops," he mumbled.

"You're an idiot," May snapped at Drew, who flinched at her tone. He rubbed his head nervously.

"In my defence, he was my uncle," Drew replied. "He was really close to me and my parents. When I was growing up Paul used to come over all the time over the summer but come winter and he would disappear."

"How did it happen?" Brock asked.

"Well, after Uncle Rob and Auntie Noel – Paul's parents - got divorced, Uncle Rob started drinking a lot. It was coming up to Christmas and my cousins were staying with Auntie Noel. I think they had been arguing over who would have the kids for the holidays and it was pretty ugly so Uncle Rob went drinking," Drew explained slowly as he sat down on the sofa. "About two o'clock and far too much alcohol later, he climbed into his car and attempted to drive home."

"Oh no," May gasped, raising her hands to her mouth in shock. "He didn't-"

"Thankfully, if you can be thankful for anything, it was quick and no one else was injured," Drew continued. "He crashed into a wall at some ridiculous speed."

"That's horrible," Misty said. "No wonder Paul's a little bit… quiet."

"Oh no," Drew said darkly. "He was well messed up before that."

On that note, Paul returned to the room with Dawn in tow, still with his unreadable mask on his face. Both of them were carrying bundles of presents in their arms which they deposited onto the table. Paul sat down without a word and watched as the others exchanged gifts in an awkward silence. Paul glanced at Drew, catching his eye.

"You're an idiot," Paul muttered to his cousin.

"Sorry," Drew replied sheepishly.

As time went by no gifts came to him, but Paul wasn't surprised by this one bit. He watched Dawn mostly, seeing her face light up with delight each time someone unwrapped one of her presents. She didn't seem to care for receiving gifts that much but she looked delighted watching others unwrap theirs. He saw that she didn't seem to have that many presents given to her, most of them being small too, but the ones she gave were large and numerous.

After a while Paul rubbed his face, finding he was irritated by the fact that Dawn was a giver rather than a taker. True givers were rare. It was true that people liked to think of themselves as givers but really, deep down, they wanted something back in return. Dawn was true giver, her face said it all. Only pure joy registered on her face as she watched her friends all the while her gifts lay by her side untouched.

It was only when the gang moved on their gifts left to them by Nick that Paul joined in. He handed the gifts out without even looking at the names.

"Oh wow," Misty sighed as she unwrapped a present, gawking at the fleeting bit of packaging.

"I've wanted this for years!" May squealed as she hugged a box of something into her chest.

"Santa knows what I like," Drew commented as he flashed his present round.

"Aw man, that's awesome!" Ash yelled. Pikachu agreed with a few repetitions of his name and a nod.

"This will come in handy," Brock chuckled as he help up new cooking supplies. Only Dawn remained quiet as she unwrapped her present. She was holding a rather large photo album with lots of pictures slotted into it. She smiled fondly at the package before putting it down on the floor next to her knee. She turned to Paul.

"What about you?" she asked. Something like recognition flickered in Paul's eyes. He stood up and pulled a small wrapped gift from his pocket. He handed it over to Dawn. She seemed reluctant to take it from him but decided to in the end. She un-did the wrapping paper slowly, pausing again when she saw a small box underneath the bright paper. She opened the box and gasped. "That's beautiful. I can't accept it though."

"Why not?" Paul enquired, frowning at the thought of a gift being given back to him.

"It looks really expensive," Dawn told him. "You shouldn't have got me anything."

"Believe it or not, I like to give presents too," Paul said. Dawn bit her lip like she understood what he meant. "So shut up and put it on."

Normally Dawn would have yelled at him for his usual bluntness but today she found herself complying with his orders. She carefully picked the silver bracelet from the box and put it on her wrist. It was a simple design: a silver band with a single pink crystal star hanging from it, but Dawn adored it. She remembered seeing it years ago when she went to Hearthome City for the first time with her mother. She had seen it and wanted it but when her mother went to buy it a little later on, all of the bracelets had been sold and there were no more.

"That's nice, Dawn," May commented. Dawn stared at the bracelet for a few minutes in silence, her eyes pooling with tears. How did he know what to get her? It was strange as if he had read her mind.

"Not bad, Paul," Drew laughed. "You even made her cry, look."

"I would guess that the grandson of Santa would know what to buy someone," Misty said. Dawn stood up suddenly and flung her arms round Paul's neck, hugging him tightly. Paul's hands went to her waist automatically to stop them both from toppling over. He let out a sigh once his balance was regained.

"Thank you, it's perfect," she muttered in his ear.

"It's fine," Paul replied. She continued to hug him tightly which was starting to make him feel uncomfortable. He glanced at the girls for some help but they were too busy having fits of silent giggles to help him.

"We should get dressed," Drew said. "After all, we need to go over to Santa's soon."

"Oh yeah," Ash said.

"Pikachu," Pikachu said.

"Lots of food," Ash told his companion. "I can't wait!"

"Hands off! I want to watch that!" was the first thing the gang heard when Paul opened the door to the large room Nick had rented for the day. There was a large round table on one side of the room with twelve chairs round it. The table was twinkling from all of the trimmings on it. Plates, crackers, candles, glasses and a fancy crystal ornament in the shape of a tree sat on the table top. At the other side of the room was a door leading through to the kitchen. The rest of the space was dedicated to a large lounge area where a fire was roaring heartily in a large brick fireplace. Close to it was a lavishly decorated Christmas tree with all shapes and sizes of baubles. A large sofa and a few comfy looking armchairs where turned in the direction of the TV which was currently flicking between channels frantically. On the rug in front of the TV were two purple hair teenagers who appeared to be wrestling over the remote. One was clearly Twinkle while the other was Paul's older brother, Reggie.

"OW!" yelled Reggie. "No teeth, Twink!"

"Come in," Paul told the others, showing them in. Happily the gang of teens poured into the room taking in the festive decorations. Everything looked warm and cosy, almost like it belonged on a Christmas movie set.

The door leading to the kitchen opened and a tall, young looking woman slid into the room. She paused to give the two wrestling teens a glare but she soon turned to look at the visitors.

"Oh, Paul!" she shouted as she rushed over to Paul, hugging him tightly then pulling away. "Merry Christmas, sweetie."

"Merry Christmas, mum," Paul replied. He turned to the others so he could introduce them to his mother. "This is Noël Christmas, my mother."

"Nice to meet you everyone," Noël said happily. She looked over her shoulder at her other two children wrestling in the lounge area and let out a sigh. "I apologise for the lack of a welcome from the other two."

"I'll deal with it," Paul offered. He stuck his hands in his pockets and waltzed over to his siblings. He looked down at them for a few seconds, seeing when would the best time to intervene. Suddenly, as Reggie flung out his arm, Paul plucked the remote from Reggie's hand, turned it over so he could remove the batteries then handed it back to Reggie as if nothing had happened. The two had frozen mid fight, with Twinkle straddling Reggie as he laid on his stomach, as Paul did this, knowing they had been out witted once again.

"One thing for it, Reg," Twinkle said to her older brother as she combed her hair from her face with her fingers.

"Yeah," Reggie agreed. Paul turned quickly to throw the batteries at his mother, who caught them easily, before being leapt on by his older siblings. Within seconds all three of them were fighting on the floor in a rather playful way.

"Think nothing of it," Noël told the teens. "They're always like that. Can I get you drinks?"

"Erm… Yes please," May stuttered.

"I'll help," Brock offered. Noël smiled as she led Brock towards the kitchen, chatting to him about the meal they were preparing.

"Should we stop them?" Misty asked watching the three siblings fight on the floor. Reggie and Twinkle seemed to be ganging up on Paul but every now and again, Twinkle would give Reggie a tickle in the ribs.

"How?" May said. "I mean, I'd rather not get involved."

"We need a distraction," Ash agreed.

"Pika pika," Pikachu said.

"Like what?" Drew asked. Dawn looked at the fighting siblings, at Drew then back again. A large smile appeared on her face as she stepped forwards, raising her hand to her mouth.

"Hey, you know cousin Drew's here, right?" she told the siblings loudly. The fighting ceased immediately, all six eyes turning onto Drew in an almost scary way. Drew began backing away but it was no use. Within seconds he was at the bottom of a dog pile, leaving the rest of his friends in a chorus of laughter.

**The next chapter will be a new chapter, promise!**

**RSx**


	3. Surprise!

**Finally, a new chapter! Yus! Hehe, I know it's not Christmas yet but oh well! I've re-written the previous two chapters slightly if you'd like to have a re-read of them ^_^**

**Enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Chapter Three: Surprise!**

"Oh this is lovely, Hollisha," Noël said loudly as she unwrapped a luxurious looking scarf from green paper. "I needed a new scarf since my old one was eaten by that Swinub."

"Any time mum," Twinkle replied happily. Reggie picked up a present and handed it over to Twinkle.

"This is from me," Reggie told his sister. She eyed him carefully but then unwrapped the present, figuring it couldn't be too bad.

"So it's like this every year?" Misty asked Paul as the gang observed the present unwrapping. Paul nodded slowly, toying with a small present in his hands.

"Yeah, we're not allowed to unwrap any presents until we're all together," Paul explained. "It's a pain because it means we don't do anything else on Christmas Day but it's good in its own way."

"I see," Drew said. "That's why you never used to unwrap presents at our parties."

"Yeah," Paul said with a nod. "Dad hated it. He thought it was weird."

"Do you miss your dad?" May asked softly.

"Sometimes," Paul replied honestly. "But since he died life has been so much simpler."

"Harsh," Ash muttered.

"Dad was a control freak after he and mum divorced," Paul snapped at Ash. "He wanted Christmas with his kids even though we wanted to help the old man. We'd go on Gramp's sleigh and help in the workshops but dad didn't want us to. He wanted us for himself despite the fact he got the entire summer with us. He wanted to take Christmas away from the Christmas's."

"My dad used to be the same," Dawn said, more to Paul than anyone else. "He used to bully my mum into letting him spend time with me and then we'd do nothing. I guess he just wanted to fight with mum."

"Oh, Paul," Paul's grandmother, Madge, said suddenly from her comfy looking chair. "Aren't you going to unwrap that present in your hands?"

"I've noticed you've been twiddling it for a while," Nick commented as he turned to look at the young teen. "Let me guess, it's from some girl? Maybe a secret admirer?"

Dawn went beetroot red beside Misty and May as she saw the small present she had given him the night before but Paul seemed to ignore his grandparents. With a nod he began to unwrap the present slowly. His family turned to watch him with curious expressions on their faces like they'd never seen anyone unwrap a present before. Dawn began to feel nervous as Paul continued to unwrap the paper painfully slow. Finally he came to the gift and paused.

"What is it?" Twinkle asked curiously, pushing her way to Paul's side. "Some candy love hearts? A miniature shrine to you? A lock of her hair bronzed and mounted?"

"Remind me to warn your boyfriend how weird you are when you get one," Reggie mumbled. Twinkle shot her brother a dead eye but it was short. She wanted to know what Paul's present was. Slowly Paul smirked and lifted the present out of the wrapping paper.

"That's it?" May asked. "How anti-climatic."

"It's so cute!" Twinkle cheered, sounding rather like a three year old. Paul showed his sister a small handmade Turtwig doll. "It's exactly like the one Reggie destroyed when you were younger."

"Really?" Reggie asked, appearing beside Twinkle looking interested. Paul pulled the Turtwig doll out of Reggie's reach protectively.

"I still have nightmares about the last one," Paul told his brother. "There's no way I'm letting you near this one."

"Stop being a baby, Paul," Reggie laughed attempting to swipe the Turtwig from Paul's hand but Paul moved it out of his grasp.

"That's what you said last time and the next minute it was on fire," Paul snapped.

"Yeah, Reggie," Twinkle teased. "You were grounded for a month after that."

"You set one of Paul's toys on fire?" Misty asked, sniggering. "That's mean."

"Paul was about four," Twinkle explained. "And he absolutely loved his Turtwig toy. Grandma made it for him."

"Thanks," Paul said to Dawn before turning his eyes on Reggie. "Finally, I have a replacement even though somebody promised to make me a new one."

"Hey, you've seen my sowing," Reggie said defensively, holding up his hands.

"You sow like a grandma," Twinkle teased. "And you knit too!"

"Shut up!" Reggie snapped.

"Reggie's a girl, Reggie's a girl," Twinkle sang as she pranced around the room.

"They do say that Twinkle is the second girl in the family," Drew agreed with a nod.

"Take that back, Drewy-Bear," Reggie said sharply, glaring at his younger cousin.

"Right now," Nick said loudly. The family fell into silence instantly. Twinkle even stopped dancing round the room to see what Nick was going to say. The other teens listened too. "I've decided to take a year off with my wonderful wife and my wonderful daughter leaving Paul in charge of the business."

"We've heard, Granddad," Reggie said.

"I think we're going on an around the world cruise," Nick said happily. "Since we couldn't decide where to go."

"That sounds nice," May said. "There's so many nice places I would like to go to."

"See," Madge said, more to her husband than the rest of them. "She gets it."

It sounded like the pair had been arguing over where they should stay for a while but Nick just didn't seem to care anymore. May and Dawn giggled as Madge glared at her husband.

"Any way," Nick went on. "I'm leaving Paul in charge for the year since he's the only one I can count on not to get bullied by Twinkle or get too annoyed with Reggie. He's the only one I can trust not to set the building on fire, either."

"That only happened once," Reggie snapped.

"And that was Mum's fault," Twinkle said, pointing at her mother. Noel giggled loudly.

"Oh he means me, dear," Noel said. "You try to cook one Christmas dinner and you can't live it down."

"So what will I have to do then?" Paul asked.

"Run the business, do the marketing, look after my elves, feed the Stantler and keep those moron Goodman's off my property," Nick listed.

"The Goodman's are our neighbours," Madger explained quickly to the teens who seemed confused. "There's a little bit of tension between the two of us."

"And then you'll have to do delivery," Nick said. "But you'll have no problem doing that."

"If Reggie's not there to push me out of it again, no," Paul agreed. Reggie was just about to object to this but Madge shut up by raising a hand.

"But I think you'll need some help," Madge said. "It's too much to ask just your sister and mother since they've been working non-stop over the last few years, although Twinkle wants to stay with you until you get settled."

"Great," Paul said. He turned to look at his sister who beamed at him.

"Don't worry, I'll behave myself," Twinkle said but her tone suggested otherwise.

"Yeah, right," Paul muttered.

"Now that everything is wrapped up," Noël said. "I think it's time we pack up and leave, don't you?"

"What are we going to do?" Drew asked. He stood up and put his hands behind his head, waiting for the oncoming lecture but Nick merely grinned widely.

"Well, you're coming with us," Nick said brightly. "Once we've packed up here, you'll follow us."

"Where?" Ash asked.

"Really?" Paul snorted. "You're asking Santa where he's going?"

Ash glanced at Paul for a few seconds, a horribly stupid expression on his face. Everyone turned to look at him, surprised that he hadn't guessed their destination quite yet. Dawn smiled at Ash until something dawned on her that wasn't very good. She gave a loud yelp, which made Paul almost jump out of his skin.

"What's wrong?" he snapped at her.

"It's going to be cold," Dawn gasped. "And I don't have any thermals or anything, not even extra thick woolly tights."

"Why would you want tights?" Drew asked.

"I wear them under my trousers," Dawn replied innocently. "It keeps my legs nice and toastie."

"And it stops your boots from rubbing," Twinkle added with a nod.

"Yeah," Dawn agreed. "But if we're really going to the North Pole then I'll need some more jumpers, coats, scarves and tights. Ooo, there was this cute little bobble hat I saw in a shop in Goldenrod. That would be so great for the North Pole."

"Did it have 'I'm with stupid' on it by any chance?" Paul said. He let out a sigh, rubbing his head as he felt the dull throb of a headache. Dawn shook her head wildly.

"No," she told him. "It said 'I'm with grumpy' and had a great big arrow pointing at YOU!"

Paul jumped again at the loudness of her voice, turning to stare at her. She made a snorting noise and turned her back to him so that she could talk to May and Misty instead since they could appreciate how much she liked to shop. As Paul shook his head at the blunette, he felt a fat finger poke him in the ribs. When he turned round, Paul came ear to mouth with his grandfather who whispered: "Marry her."

"Give it a rest gramps," Paul replied, pushing his grandfather away from him.

"Dawn does have a point," Noel said. "It'll be much colder back home than here but all the shops are closed."

Paul let out another large sigh as his grandmother agreed with his mother. May and Misty relayed how they had very little winter clothing that was decent against the snow.

"I've been meaning to get some more gloves," Drew commented. "The one's I have, have holes in them."

"My trainers will alright in the snow, right?" Ash asked.

"This is quite bad," Nick said. "I didn't think of this."

"And didn't you think, either, that at home we have a host of 'magical elves' that would be more than happy to make us clothes?" Paul asked boredly. "Look, Troublesome designs the clothes, the elves make the clothes. Is it really that hard to think about?"

The room fell silent again until Dawn leant into Paul.

"You'll really let me design stuff?" she asked.

"Sure, why not," Paul replied. "So are we done with this, now?"

"He get's that from his father," Noel said. She went bright eyed and clasped her hands together. "Rob was always so good at solving problems like that. How many years did he save the day for us with a simple solution? Oh, he was my hero."

Paul didn't seem too impressed by his mother's outburst but he didn't say anything. He merely looked down at the Turtwig toy in his hands and jiggled it for a second.

"Dad was good at stuff like that," Twinkle agreed. "But Reggie is a lot more like dad than Paul is. I think Paul got all the good bits from Dad and Reggie got all the scraps."

"But I came before Paul," Reggie snapped.

"Well, he obviously saved all the good bits for Paul then, didn't he?" Twinkle teased her brother.

"And you got nothing from dad," Reggie told her.

"I did," Twinkle said. "I got his weird super human strength."

To demonstrate this she walked over to Drew and picked him up by the collar like it was the easiest thing to do. With very little effort Drew was hoisted up, his arms hanging limply by his side as he stared boredly at Reggie.

"Why me," Drew muttered as he was placed back onto the floor.

"Sorry, Drew," Twinkle said. "But you're the only one I don't strangle."

"I know not to struggle," Drew told her. Twinkle giggled loudly before she patted him on the back.

"There's a good lad," she laughed.

"You should do children's parties," Reggie commented.

"Yeah, we could be a double act: Twinkle the Strong Woman and Reggie, the clown," Twinkle said. "I can see it in lights."

"Now you two," Noel said, wagging a warning finger at her oldest two. "Behave."

"And you wonder why Paul's so moody," Nick laughed. "It's the only way he can get any attention."

Paul got to his feet quickly, glaring at his grandfather.

"We've sorted Troublesome's stupid clothes scare-"

"Hey!" Dawn yelled.

"- Now can we go?" Paul asked.

"Alright, alright," Nick grumbled, heaving himself to his feet.

"How exactly are we going to get to the North Pole?" Ash asked. "There are six of us and six of you. We can't just hop in a car and drive."

"If I can fly around the world in a single night then all twelve of us can hop in a car and drive," Nick said, laughing heartily at Ash's confused face. "You just need to know the right car."

"I-if you say so," Ash stuttered, rubbing his head.

**Poor Ash. Always getting picked on by the others. I have no idea when I'll be updating this again but I hope it's going to be soon! **

**Please Review!**

**RSx**


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